**CONTENTS
1. News on APRSAF
- The second SAFE workshop will be held in June
- The third JPTM for Sentinel Asia Step 2 will be held in July
- STAR program progresses
- Malaysia and Thailand participated in the Parabolic Flight Campaign

2. Indonesian Payload Rocket Competition 2010 (KORINDO 2010)

3. Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1 found ice deposits at moon's north pole

4. A$12M awarded to the first recipients of the new space research program, Australia

5. Heads of ISS agency met in Tokyo, Japan in March 2010

6. Event Calendar

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1. News on APRSAF
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- The second SAFE workshop will be held in June
The second SAFE workshop will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 28 to 29 June 2010, jointly organized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) of Sri Lanka.

- The third JPTM will be held in July
The third Joint Project Team Meeting for Sentinel Asia Step 2 (JPTM for SA step2) will be held in Manila, the Philippines from 6 to 8 July 2010.

- STAR program progresses
Under the STAR program, WebEx meeting is held every third Thursdays at 8:00 UTC to discuss various issues around satellite technologies. Participants usually include 10 to 15 people from 4 to 5 organizations.

- Malaysia and Thailand participated in the Parabolic Flight Campaign
Students from Malaysia and Thailand conducted microgravity experiments on parabolic flights in Japan on 25 and 26 March 2010. The themes of the experiments were as follows:
- "Magnetic Interaction of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Microgravity"
Multimedia University (MMU), Malaysia
- "A Study of Water Drops Spreading in Textiles under Microgravity Condition"
King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Thailand

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2. Indonesian Payload Rocket Competition 2010 (KORINDO 2010)
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The Indonesian Payload Rocket Competition 2010 (KORINDO 2010) will be held from 26 to 28 June 2010 at Pandansimo Beach, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This competition is organized by the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), General Directorate of Higher Education, Ministry of National Education (Dikti-Mendiknas) and the local Government of Bantul.

KORINDO 2010 is a space technology dissemination activity for academics, particularly university students. The objectives of the competition are as follows:
- to develop interest in space among university students;
- to identify university students who are highly competent in space technology; and
- to broaden and deepen understanding of rocket architecture and payload evaluation among university students.

As agreed at the APRSAF-16, members of the Space Education Awareness Working Group of APRSAF are invited to observe this activity by the courtesy of LAPAN.

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3. Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1 finds ice deposits at moon's north pole
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Analysis of data from the NASA's Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR) onboard Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft provided the evidence of ice deposits near the moon's north pole. The Mini-SAR instrument found more than 40 small craters (2 to 15 km in diameter) with sub-surface water ice located at their base. The interior of these craters is in permanent sun shadow.

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4. A$12M awarded to the first recipients of the new space research program, Australia
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On 26 Feb 2010, Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr announced the four projects funded under the first round of the new Australian Space Research Program (ASRP).
The successful projects are:
- Pathways to Space: Empowering the Internet Generation - a collaborative, hands-on program enabling year 10-12 students to plan space exploration projects using a living laboratory to simulate realistic scenarios and gain an understanding of space engineering challenges.
- Scramjet-based Access-to-space Systems - taking Australia's world-leading scramjet technology one step closer to possible future use in a fuel-efficient hybrid launch vehicle for transporting payloads into space.
- Antarctic Broadband - developing satellite-based broadband communications technology for use by the Antarctic community to transfer data; the project will also build expertise in small satellite communications systems that can be applied throughout Australia.
- Platform Technologies for Space, Atmosphere and Climate - developing technologies for space research, including tracking and navigation, weather and climate monitoring, and atmospheric modelling.
The program is part of the Australian Government's $1.1 billion (AUD) Super Science Initiative, which supports projects that build on Australia's research strengths.

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5. Heads of ISS agency met in Tokyo, Japan in March 2010
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The heads of the International Space Station (ISS) agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States met in Tokyo, Japan, on 11 March 2010, to review ISS cooperation and released a joint statement.
They reaffirmed the importance of full exploitation of the Station's scientific, engineering, utilization, and education potential. They also noted that there are no identified technical constraints to continuing ISS operations beyond the current planning horizon of 2015 to at least 2020, and that the Partnership is currently working to certify on-orbit elements through 2028.

- International symposium on 'Benefiting from Earth Observation:
Bridging the Data Gap for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region'
(4-6 October 2010, Kathmandu, Nepal)http://geoportal.icimod.org/symposium2010/